3 Reasons Your Business Needs Social Media
It seems as though social media has begun to pervade every aspect of life as we know it. Often, when visiting with friends, they’ll begin to tell me a story, only to interject with, “Oh wait – I have a picture of it on Instagram, let me show you.” No longer do grandmothers send cutesy cards in the mail – now they can post that picture of a cat right to your wall. And celebrities are no longer elusive creatures – if you’ve ever seen Celebrities Read Mean Tweets you know that they are easier to reach than ever.
With social media as wide reaching as it has become, it’s no wonder that businesses are among those jumping at the bit to join in. Some businesses are hesitant, finding themselves wondering if there really is a benefit to signing up. Given that 74% of online adults use social media platforms in one way or another with this number growing more and more each year, it’s safe to say that social media is a good choice. But that’s not the only reason.
1
You can engage directly with your consumer
This is by far the greatest reason for businesses to create social media accounts. Take Twitter, for example. With this platform you can engage consumers and they can engage you. Say your business is a local restaurant called Jack’s Deli & Grill. Someone sends out a tweet that says, “I love the burgers at Jack’s Deli & Grill! I could eat them every day.” Awesome! Now you have live feedback that you can retweet to your account, which is great, considering 81% of consumers are influenced by friends’ social media posts. This even works if something bad happens – there are plenty of ways to respond in these situations and plenty of brands have done it well enough that it turned a negative situation into a positive one. Plus, when you engage with consumers it helps establish your brand presence, which leads to my next point.
2
Social Media can help directly and indirectly increase sales
Having accounts set up on social media platforms can lead to increased sales, be it directly or indirectly. When you consistently engage on social media, you get noticed more. When you get noticed more, you bolster your brand presence. When you bolster your brand presence, you become a trusted resource for many. When you become a trusted resource, people think of you when looking to take their business somewhere. That’s just the indirect result. Many businesses have used social media to increase sales directly as well, all through the use of the platforms.
3
You can showcase your brand
Have a special deal going on? Want to show off a new product? Think the employee of the month deserves recognition more than a pat on the back? You can use social media for all of this. If you’re trying to market a restaurant, you can share the daily specials right to Facebook. If your brand is a clothing store, why not upload some photos of the newest dresses to Instagram? You can even throw a shout out to a star employee on Twitter. Social media is the perfect place to post a little humblebrag or fun tidbit about your business. Or, it’s a great place to share the release of a product – Burger King did it perfectly with the re-release of it’s beloved chicken fries. It’s even the perfect place to post some behind-the-scenes features, such as a product getting made or the staff having a night out. Content is key on social media, and when you’re consistently showing up with good content in someone’s newsfeed they really start to look forward to following you.
Being on social media is incredibly important for businesses. Those three points are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefit that social media can have for your business. If you are interested in setting up social media, but don’t know where to start or don’t think you have the time, give us a call at 804-577-8679 or contact us here.